Flora y vegetación de páramo

The biogeographic province of Andean Páramo presents the most diverse tropical high mountain flora in the world. The recent evolution of the paramo, with the last uplift of the northern Andes at the end of the Tertiary and glaciation dynamics in the Quaternary, which promoted a high rate of floristic diversification, made it the youngest and coldest biodiversity hotspot globally. This chapter mentions the plant families that dominate the moor, in addition to the patterns of floristic richness with respect to latitude and altitude, and the presence of centers of endemism. Additionally, we present a classification that divides the paramos into 13 natural phytogeographic units throughout the biogeographic province, and that are correlated with geographic and climatic gradients. Due to its ecology and flora, the major types of vegetation of the paramo are defined, both zonal and azonal, in the altitudinal bands of sub-paramo, mid-paramo and super-paramo. Finally, the main environmental threats to phytodiversity are summarized and the perspectives of interesting studies on flora and vegetation of the Andean paramo are highlighted.